Are Labor Unions Going to Drive Out the Last Remaining Major US Manufacturers?

It is amazing that so many people blame China for the decrease in manufacturing jobs in the United States. I suppose it’s really easy to blame another nation for the challenges we face. However, you really can’t blame a large Corporation wishing to cut its costs, and ditch all the challenges they have with labor unions in our great country. Worse, many politicians take the side of the labor unions, and attempt to increase regulations on corporations creating a lopsided playing field between labor and business.

Now then, many folks that work in the labor force say that it’s not fair that corporate executives make so much money. However, that’s not for the labor to decide, that is for the shareholders to decide. Recently there has been a big to do with the National Labor Relations Board (which I might add my voice recognition software automatically capitalized, when it often doesn’t capitalize various other agencies, no surprise there, but it is a clue as to how powerful the incestuous relationship between labor and government has become), and a major airliner manufacturer.

In fact, it’s getting to the point that this major airline manufacturer is going to have to completely de-unionize just to survive, or move its factories out of the country as every other major Corporation has done. It’s too bad that many politicians and other policymakers can’t see what’s going on. It’s been ruining America, and the manufacturing industry, our industrial base in this country for nearly 50 years. Yes, it’s been going on a long time.

By the time the manufacturing corporations get done with big labor, and then try to build a new factory and deal with the environmentalists, EIR reports, and other government regulations they realize they can’t turn a profit in this country. Not considering the global market, supply and demand, and the price points to sell US products throughout the world. Is that China’s fault that we have so much regulation, so many lawsuits, and so many threatening labor unions which might strike at the drop of a hat?

Why would any major manufacturing corporation wish to deal with that?

There was an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, June 15, 2011 by Melanie Trottman titled “Boeing, NLRB Clash over Plant” which discussed the labor dispute which even the Obama Administration has publicly addressed, and many states have joined in lawsuits to protect the right of businesses to choose which states they wish to put their manufacturing facilities in, without being forced to unionize.

Are you beginning to see some of the problems that are going on? This is merely one example of so many we’ve seen over the last few years. Indeed, it has become a highly charged political debate, and yet on one hand we claim we want workers rights, high-paying jobs, full pension and health-care benefits, but we won’t allow the companies to make a profit. If they can’t turn a profit, they’re going to have to move their operations to China. Indeed, many of them already have, and that’s the problem.

We cannot mandate higher labor costs, and more benefits, if we continually increase the regulations of these companies. We are driving companies to China faster than China could ever recruit them on their own. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.